Hermann Balck

Hermann Balck (7 December 1893-29 November 1982) was a General der Panzertruppe of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Biography
Hermann Balck was born on 7 December 1893 in Danzig-Langfuhr, German Empire (present-day Gdansk, Poland). Balck was the son of Prussian genearl William Balck, and he fought on all of the European fronts during World War I: the Western, Eastern, Italian, and Balkan theaters. Balck was among the 4,000 officers selected to continue military service under the Reichswehr after the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, and at the start of World War II he was a staff officer in a motor corps. From the winter of 1940 to the spring of 1941, he was given command of the Panzerregiment 3, leading the unit during the Battle of Greece; in May 1942 he took command of the 11th Panzer Division in Ukraine and Russia. Balck fought against the Red Army's offensives against the Wehrmacht in Eastern Europe and led the XLVIII Panzer Corps in December 1943 and spring 1944, holding back the Soviet offensive in the Ukraine. In September 1944, he took command of Army Group G in Alsace to succeed Johannes Blaskowitz, but on 23 December 1944 he was relieved after failing to stop George S. Patton's advance. He was sent to lead the German 6th Army in Hungary instead, which also had operational command over two Hungarian armies. On 8 May 1945, he surrendered to the United States in Austria, and he worked as a depot worker until his death on 29 November 1982 in Asperg, Baden-Wurttemberg, West Germany.